Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Last weekend we crossed one more thing off our list of things to do before little r comes. Mr. Handsome took me to a local farm to enjoy the harvest this season. We researched a few and found our way to Bate's Nut Farm. The whole way up the mountain, the scenery, the kick back schedule, it was a welcome change. i wrapped it all up and tucked it away in my heart for keeps. it was one big happy moment.

i have to admit it was pretty silly of us to be in a large place filled with families and little ones. We were the only one's there without kids it seemed. just us and our little baby bump :) We picked a pumpkin a tad bit bigger than little r :)

i had asked mr.handsome for a pumpkin and i got a golden sun shiny kiss :)

The corn maze here wasn't so lush but we made it work. It certainly made for a perfect backdrop to a snapshot of what i like to call my "super pumpkin mama look". *cheesy* yes, i know. thanks to the mister for being patient with me :) I was going for a happy baby bump + mama + pumpkin photo. i think little r is going to love picking our pumpkin next year. I'm so excited! i can't wait to toast up the pumpkin seeds & make some pumpkin bread this weekend. yay :)

and just because i'm so darn silly and i do love to share a good laugh (even at my own expense) a story about my la la moment while at the farm: so with all our research i remember seeing various farms offering a variety of treats; apple cider, hot chocolate, caramel covered apples, apple pies, cotton candy and even pumpkin pie... and for some reason i remembered the pumpkin pie. It got stuck in my head (actually my craving tummy :) And when we got there i kept asking mr.handsome where the pumpkin pies were. he kept giving me this blank look like what are you talking about?! we went to the ticket booth to buy our tickets and i kept looking around hoping to find the lucky pumpkin pie stand and nothing. i turned to the mister and he was talking to the ticket lady and she mentioned pumpkins and i said quickly oh yum! pumpkin pie! and she then gave me a blank stare... i get those alot :) hahaa. and the mister knowing i was going crazy just kept the conversation going about where the pumpkins were etc... i once again asked so the pumpkin pies are over there? and i totally pointed and everything and then both the mister and the lady stared at me with there "crazy lady face" stare. the mister paid our tickets laughing and turned leading me to the pumpkins to pick and told me i was the craziest pregnant lady he knew. i must've been craving a slice of pie and that's all i had on my brain :) nope. no pumpkin pie at the farm. what a let down. but we laughed it off anyway and the next day he came home with a big pumpkin pie just for me... which i'm happy to say i have enjoyed a slice each say since. xoxo.. one for me and one for the baby :)

so crazy pregnant lady i am... the end.

another thing i've been crazy about is making huge crochet flowers to pin on my coats :) I made the one I am wearing in the harvest photos a while back. Back when we went to mr.handsome's grandmothers funeral. i wanted to wear something pretty in her honor. and i knew she loved to crochet etc so i made the large flower to embellish my dress i wore for her funeral. i think she would've liked it :) and since then i've been making them to give to family & friends xoxo.

especially during this gift giving season ahead of us. i think they would look great on some lovely friends xo.

lots of pretty colors to choose from available in the shop. I hope you like them too :) i've been wearing them on my sweaters even though it still is pretty sunny and warm around here. i can't wait to wear them around a scarf & my big winter coat! so excited :)

i hope you find some time to get out and enjoy a little bit of pumpkin pickin' and some pumpkin pie eatin' :) i'll let you know how everything goes with the pumpkin cookin' :) ps: if you have any favorite pumpkin recipes you think i should try i'd love to hear about them, pretty & please and a big thank you :)

Saturday, October 22, 2011

These last couple of weeks the mister and i have been pretty chill. As our time gets closer to meeting little r ( about 8 weeks to go! yikes ! ) I've been making mental notes about places and things i want to visit & try out. mostly visit :) but one thing on my list of things to try out was making cake pops - some of my favorite desserts that seem to be popping up all over the web. I found this recipe through Bakerella. She has her own book and I came across it a few months back which lead me to her amazing tasty blog :)

I made a few changes:
- instead of red velvet cake I tried to spice things up with a little fall lovin' and made mine from carrot cake. mmmm..... yummy xoxo. *smiles*

- I also added a few cups of chopped walnuts to the mix

- I topped the cake balls off with a sprinkle of extra walnuts as the chocolate set. we are a bit nutty about nuts over here tehee.

They don't look as beautiful & perfect as Bakerella's but for our first attempt i think they came out quite alright. Either way, it's all about the taste right? and they were mighty delicious! i could honestly only take one cake ball. it was such a sugar rush!!! i wish you could reach over and have a few. we still have some left over :)

also something else i've been making and thought i'd share a peak with you xo
crochet love xoxo
for family& friends... flowers are the best :)
soon to be hitting the shop shelves, Inspire Lovelyfor holiday gift giving. sweetness xo

and taking a wee break, resting my arm from all the crochet. with my silly puppy

mr.rogers and i snuck outside away from the studio to catch some sun rays yesterday... trying to spend more time with the little guy... preparing him for his new little buddy, little r. getting all emotional and of course blaming it on the pregnancy hormones raging. i hope we make time to catch more sun rays together. and more puppy hugs :)

Monday, October 17, 2011

It's been some time since sharing the studio with you. It's gone from a silly craft room to a part-time work from home/craft room to a full time shop studio. And each time it changed, it was hectic trying to reorganize everything in this space but thankfully with Mr.Handsome's help we made it work. I have extra storage up in our attic area for the rest of the items from the shop that are organized by color in a box :) It's so pretty, convenient, & efficient since I had such a hard time trying to organize everything each time I would add something new to the shop. Now i can just think of the color and easy peasy, locate what i need in the correct color box :) My brain... it's so elementary hahaa.

so welcome to my studio!

This is the first view upon entering the studio. ( I of course would be waving hi to you on the right side by the desk :)

Turn to the left and you will see my cute little closet space turned into a simple craft storage area.

I like to keep my yarn in rainbow order :) I've hung some pretty fabrics I purchased from a recent trip to Purl Soho in NY. They are so pretty to look at i love peeking over & seeing them there. xo
PS: I get so many questions about the mini organizing cubby and where I got it. It's from Making Memories and I bought it at Michaels back over 5 years ago. It's one of my favorite things they've made :)

Look to the right and you will see the upcycled storage piece I scored at a local thrift store.

The cubby piece was originally a floor piece with cabinet doors. Mr. handsome took those off and painted all the pieces. (that's deep love xoxo thank you mister xoxo :) And the bottom piece was a simple vintage armoire piece. But together i think they look pretty fabulous. Like they were meant for each other :) xo

i love shopping the clearance/sale section at my local anthro. it's so nice to buy cute knobs to brighten these drawers up for less than $3 bucks. I've kept some of the original brass circle knobs just for fun and also to stay within budget :) i LOVE my puppy knob xoxo (mr.handsome again rained supreme by painting the bottom piece with a fresh coat of white paint to match the top)

all the cubby storage is really a dream come true. it's been so fun moving things around and it really helps to see what you have and use it :)

on top of the space i like to keep my collection of jars filled with spools in all shapes + vintage globe + vintage horses i scored at a local thrift shop.
they are so pretty & cute to look at :)

and inside each cubby i keep Inspire Lovely shop items on the "virtual shelves" + extra bits of things i collect. here are some of my favorites:

And finally my desk space, where i take care of all things "Inspire Lovely" :)

I've had this IKEA desk for years and i love it. it's very clean & has plenty of space for extras. I cleaned it all out though just to start over clean and now i am counting down to just how long i can keep it all uncluttered :) So far, its been 2 weeks hahaa!

well thanks for stopping by and i wish you a happy & lovely day

ps: if you have any questions about the studio i will answer them here in the comments section :)

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

oh october. i'm loving you so much. except i don't really fit into any of my cardigans or sweaters. and i have a big love for all things warm & fuzzy. especially my cardigans and sweaters. but being here in san diego you really don't need those yet :) we had such an awesome weekend this past week it was full of warm sun + no schedule + food = happiness :) i had asked mr.handsome to please help me update my photo journal of baby r & my belly bump and so we did. :)

For my birthday i picked out this cute blue + coral outfit from a local boutique "1+2+3". It was pretty much the only thing in the store that fit hahaa. But the little shop is packed with beautiful pieces almost like anthro. but for half the price xo love it xoxo.

i love the blue. i've never been one to wear bright colors. but since i figured i'm having a little boy i might as well embrace the blue :)

so 30 weeks have flown by and i'm getting nervous. i am both very excited about having little r nestled in my arms soon & anxious about the upcoming birth process. for now i'm taking it easy. mr.handsome and i are attending classes for infant CPR etc and touring the hospital facilities soon. Plus lamaze classes. it's quite thrilling :) and yet sometimes i forget i'm pregnant. it must be the pregnancy brain or something. one thing is for sure, i'm making a list of things i want to do in the next 10 weeks before little r gets here. places i want to visit. a new recipe to bake. just explore a bit. maybe one last quick road trip just me and my mister :) who knows? we'll see where the wind will take us xo

i spent last week cleaning and purging the house and finally updated the frame wall. one frame but it sure makes a statement. we bought the frame at IKEA earlier this year. and i of course now have to promise to use everything i buy :) so thank you mr.handsome for the frame and true to my word... ta-dah! a frame on the wall :) ( i am notorious for buying frames and not hanging a single one. i have a hard time committing to a hole in the wall- heheee :)

this time i felt a bit whimsical and added a cute mix of orange in honor of october & the new season. I framed a favorite art page i made last year, added a cute succulent plant in an orange stripe pot from trader joe's + his new pal the giraffe under a thrifted bell jar, a mini pumpkin from our local market & some orange spine books from the thrift store.

My new favorite thing is the vintage globe. it lights up!!! yes, yes it's true. i love that thing to pieces. it reminds me of the one that is used in "While you were sleeping". At the beginning where Lucy & her dad plan their adventures around the world and in her room there is a shot of a pretty vintage light up globe. xoxo favorite movie xoxo :)

and a quick shot of my work table. progress! yes, i am excited about using this paper kit in the shop to journal my transformation into motherhood. I hope to finish the pages soon and share the mini with you. its been SO long since i've created anything and getting back to paper is proving to be therapy. i wonder if that happens to you too? i kind of had to lay low for a while just because it got to be too much. then somehow the timing is right and it comes back like an old friend :) either way. i'm happy to be playing again. i'm keeping my fingers crossed i finish it before baby r comes *